This is part of the fifteenth section of our around the world trip.
Complete Trip Overview & Map

Coming from the United Kingdom or read our previous visit to Belgium

29/8/09 There were also no passport checks at our arrival in France so I don't know how the authorities can know how long we were in the UK or how long we will now be in the European Schengen countries? As far as our last passport check says we are still in Ireland. It was a comfortable and smooth crossing to Calais, then a motorway ride towards Brussels to visit someone we had met in Sikkim, India, almost three years previously. Savina was travelling on her own when we met at a small hostel in Pelling and with just a few evening's conversations between us we had kept in touch and had been invited to the family"s home just out of Brussels. Set on two hectares with a wooded backdrop, their magnificent home has helped raise their four children. A long time ago it was the gardener's house for a castle estate but had been let to fall into ruin by the elderly couple who previously owned it. Eleven years later and after much hard work, renovation and extensions, much of it by Savina's family, it has now taken the shape of a lovely country home. We spent the evening with the family's company over a relaxed extended BBQ dinner discussing travel, with the widely read adult children posing many questions of interest.

30/8/09 A Sunday, it was a random informal breakfast of the European style, cheeses and breads, followed by a stroll of the estate and a walk around a nearby lake filled park. Just 15km's from Brussels you would think we were in the middle of the country side with little mechanical noise and large areas of open spaces. Three of Savina and Jean-Francoise's children, boys, are studying at university, two having exams in the next couple of days. Their younger daughter about to commence high school, a French school. Although they are situated in the Flemish speaking area of Belgium, they are a French speaking family, but chose to have their children attend Flemish junior school to better learn the language, finishing in a French school, but they also spoke good English. As mono linguists, Kay and I are always amazed at people who can fluently speak more than one language. The afternoon passed quietly in sunshine relaxing reading in the garden, another evening of quiet conversation, and to bed a little earlier, tired for no reason other than it was possible.  

1/9/09 Monday morning and the household flicked straight into business mode. Jean-Francoise had business meetings for the day at work, Savina lunches and school preparations and commitments with friends. The boys were again hard at studying and we were also thinking ahead to what lay down the road. The talk of past and future holidays, mostly Savina's interests, choosing India as her recent destination as well as the next visit in the coming winter all temporarily forgotten by the family as it swung into normality raising the means for living. We retraced our steps along the same path of two days previously towards Ostend to visit Rik, another traveller we had met just once, and had not seen in eleven years. Then he had a business of making orthopedic shoes, but that was now sold and he had moved to a small farm with just four llama and three husky dogs. An old house was on the property but was only partially livable so while Rik has been renovating he has been living in a mobile home, with another caravan for us for the night making up the property's accommodation. There seems no hurry about the place, the renovations already years progressing, and years to finish, with trips abroad on the motorcycle or the Landrover a higher priority, if indeed there are any priorities. Rik had arranged a couple of interviews with a local newspaper and national motorcycle magazine and after we had changed the oil in the new engine we sat down over a homemade 8% brew to answer their questions. Sitting outdoors in late summer weather neighbours and motorcycle friends arrived and left throughout the evening, chewing on the BBQ and salad, and swallowing a few ales, some with enough English to ask us questions, others offering a handshake and a thumbs up, and as midnight arrived it was time to retire from a great evening.

2/9/09 Most of the off freeway petrol stations in Belgium are unmanned self service with credit card payment. Unfortunately we haven't needed a security number on our credit card before so don't have one, meaning we can't purchase petrol from these stations. Thankfully Rik led us to one such station and using his credit card, with us paying him in cash, we could get petrol, else we would have been a bit short. We said thank you and goodbye to Rik after breakfast and headed out of Belgium and down the road towards Paris.

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